Chapter 25

JOHN BAILEY, Harper, Harper county: I have resided in Kansas twenty years. Have an apple orchard of 400 trees, set sixteen years, eight to twelve inches in diameter. For all purposes I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Jonathan. Have tried and discarded Rawle's Janet, because the fruit cracks open, Snow, because they are poor, and White Winter Pearmain, because the tree is subject to disease. I prefer good, sandy soil, with a northeast slope. I prefer healthy two-year-old trees, with good roots, planted twenty-eight feet apart each way. I cultivate my orchard every year with a cultivator and harrow, to keep the ground loose and mellow, and plant nothing. Windbreaks are not essential. For rabbits I wash the tree with weak lye and sulphur; have found no remedy for borers, excepting to keep the trees healthy and growing. I prune, to let in sun and keep the limbs from rubbing; I think it pays, and that it has been beneficial. I thin my fruit by pulling it off when small; I think it pays; it keeps the trees from breaking. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; I think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; I do not think it advisable. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, woolly aphis, and twig-borer, and my apples with codling-moth and curculio. I spray after the blossoms fall, and once a week for three or four weeks after that, with London purple, for all insects. I dig borers out with a fine wire. I sort my apples into three classes--first, second, and cider. I sell my apples in the orchard, wholesale, retail, and peddle. Sell the best ones in barrels. Make cider and vinegar of the culls. My best markets are at home and Oklahoma territory. I do not dry any. I am successful in storing apples in bulk; find the Missouri Pippin keeps best. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from twenty-five cents to one dollar per bushel.

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JACOB REDIGER, Maherville, Barton county: I have lived in Kansas twelve years. Have an apple orchard of 200 trees eighteen years old. I prefer sandy bottom land near the river, with a north slope. I cultivate my orchard all the time with a disc and harrow, planting no crop. Windbreaks are not essential. I prune with a saw and knife, and think it pays. Never have thinned my apples, but if it were necessary would do it before they begin to hang down. My trees are in mixed plantings. I mulch my orchard with stable litter and straw; would not advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard, but think it would be advisable, as they would eat insects. My trees are troubled with flathead borer, and my apples with curculio. The first of June I dig the borers out with a penknife and cut their heads off. I pick my apples by hand. I sell apples in the orchard at retail; feed the culls to hogs. My best market is among the neighbors. I store apples for my own use by burying, and find the Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis and Romanite keep best. I do not irrigate, but ought to. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel at picking time.

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N. MAYRATH, Dodge, Ford county: I have lived in Kansas twenty years. Have 250 apple trees eight to twelve years old, six to ten inches in diameter. I prefer upland for fruit, a sandy loam, with a northern aspect. I prefer two-year-old grafts, planted thirty by thirty feet east and west. Have tried root grafts with success. I cultivate my orchard to garden-truck and hoed crops, using plow in spring, then the disc or Acme harrow. I keep the ground clear of weeds and mellow up to the middle of July. I cease cropping after four or five years, planting nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential here in western Kansas, and I would make them of Russian mulberry, in one or more rows, north and south of the orchard.

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M. M. WILSON, Zionville, Grant county: I have resided in Kansas fourteen years; have an apple orchard of 300 trees ten years old, four to six inches in diameter. I prefer sandy bottom land.

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THOMAS E. HOCKETT, Hugoton, Stevens county: I have lived in the state thirteen years; have an apple orchard of sixty trees eight years old, eight to twelve feet high. I prefer dark, sandy loam. I dig large holes, set one-year-old trees, putting top soil around the roots. I cultivate my orchard with a stirring plow and hoe, and plant nothing; am still cultivating. Windbreaks are essential. I would make them of two or three rows of mulberry trees. For protection from rabbits I rub dead rabbit on the tree, and repeat if necessary when we have much rain. I prune very little. Do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are planted in blocks. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard. I do not spray; am not troubled with insects. I hand-pick my apples. I do not dry or store any for market. I do not irrigate.

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GEO. T. ELLIOTT, Great Bend, Barton county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-one years. Have an apple orchard of 800 trees from two to ten years old, and three to seven inches in diameter. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Jonathan. I prefer a sandy bottom, with a northeast aspect. I prefer three-year-old trees set twenty feet apart, in land which has been plowed deeply and subsoiled. I cultivate my orchard as long as I can get among the trees, with a disc that throws dirt out first, and one that throws dirt in second. I cease cropping after the first year; plant nothing in a bearing orchard. I have a windbreak made of black locust and mulberries. I prune with pruning-knife and shears to form the tops. I think it pays. I do not thin my apples while on the trees. I believe all orchards should be set in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, and think it beneficial on sandy soil. I do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable; it does not pay. My trees are troubled with flathead borers and tent-caterpillars, and my apples with curculio. I do not spray. I hand-pick my apples. I do not irrigate; but think a windmill and a good pond would pay.

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J. B. SCHLICHTER, Sterling, Rice county: I have lived in Kansas since 1871. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Willow Twig, and Rawle's Janet, and for a family orchard Maiden's Blush and Early Harvest. I have tried and discarded Ben Davis because they died when eighteen or twenty years old; they are no good here. I prefer a northeast slope, with a sandy loam and a clay subsoil. I prefer small two-year-old trees, set 16x24 feet, rows running north and south. I plant my orchard to corn up to bearing age, using the plow and harrow, and plant nothing after they begin to bear, but keep up the cultivation. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of two or three rows of Russian mulberries, on the south side of the orchard. I do not prune my trees; it does not pay. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I do not fertilize my orchard. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable. I do not spray. I pick my apples by hand, the old way; sort into two classes. I dry some.

FRUIT DISTRICT No. 4.

Following is the fourth district, composed of twenty-four counties in southeast quarter of the state. Reports, or rather experiences, from each of these counties will be found immediately following. We give below the number of apple trees in the fourth district, as compiled from the statistics of 1897. Many thousands were added in the spring of 1898.

_Bearing._ _Not bearing._ _Total._ Allen 122,015 64,449 186,464 Anderson 111,372 46,719 158,091 Bourbon 175,961 40,570 216,531 Butler 182,827 53,966 236,793 Chase 46,762 25,191 69,953 Chautauqua 96,865 22,853 119,718 Cherokee 238,331 92,067 330,398 Coffey 167,255 68,247 235,502 Cowley 172,648 50,767 223,415 Crawford 143,089 34,798 177,887 Elk 101,601 34,343 135,944 Greenwood 117,840 70,224 188,064 Harvey 85,471 30,613 116,084 Labette 257,915 83,345 341,260 Linn 108,654 45,285 153,939 Lyon 161,295 116,176 277,471 Marion 86,838 64,359 151,197 McPherson 122,538 38,498 161,036 Montgomery 121,282 35,572 156,854 Neosho 159,443 61,754 221,197 Sedgwick 182,363 74,742 257,105 Sumner 140,613 36,961 177,574 Wilson 139,869 47,876 187,745 Woodson 72,815 24,485 97,300 --------- --------- --------- Total in district No. 4 3,315,862 1,163,660 4,479,522 Estimated acreage 650,000 220,000 870,000

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WM. SNYDER, Towanda, Butler county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-seven years; have an orchard of 1200 trees--200 twenty-six years old, diameter twelve to fifteen inches, thirty feet high; 700 twelve years old, eight to ten inches in diameter at base, twelve to fifteen feet high; 300 eight years old, five to six inches in diameter at the ground, eight to ten feet high. For all purposes I prefer Summer Rose, Early Harvest, Duchess of Oldenburg, Grimes's Golden Pippin, Jonathan, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Ben Davis. Bottom land is best for Ben Davis and Winesap; other varieties named will do better on high ground. Northeast slope is preferable; black loam with clay subsoil. I plant healthy three-year-old trees, branching three feet from ground, in deep furrows, crossmarked with plow; stand trees erect, and tramp earth firmly about the roots. I cultivate my orchard five years with plow and cultivator, and grow corn in young orchard. I cease after five years, and grow nothing in bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of peach, Russian mulberry, or cedar, by planting several rows on south of orchard. For rabbits, fence with two-foot poultry netting; for borers, whitewash and cultivate. I prune just a little with saw or shears to remove interlocking branches only; it pays. Never have thinned my fruit; believe it does not pay. Can distinguish no difference whether trees are in blocks of one kind or mixed plantings. I do not fertilize my orchard. Stable litter would, I think, benefit thin soil. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable, and does not pay.

My apple trees are troubled with canker-worm, root aphis, and fall web-worm. Have sprayed for fifteen years, for canker-worm and codling-moth. Have used London purple and arsenate of lime. I spray for canker-worm as soon as they hatch and the buds begin to open, and again before bloom opens; for codling-moth, at time the bloom drops. I have reduced the codling-moth very much. I pick my apples by hand, from a ladder, into baskets, and sort into two classes usually; first class, for market, picked by hand; second class, for cider, shaken off. Have never used packages of any kind. Usually deliver in wagon. I sell apples in the orchard, wholesale and retail. Sell best to my neighbors, in orchard. Second and third grades I sell cheap and convert into cider and vinegar. The culls I feed to cattle and hogs. My best market is in the orchard and at Wichita; never have tried distant markets. Never dry any. Sometimes I store apples for winter market in a cellar, but prefer a cave; store in boxes and bulk. Am fairly successful; have apples in cellar at this time (May 1), Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Ben Davis, and Grimes's Golden Pippin, in the order named. Never have tried artificial cold storage; have to repack stored apples, if late, losing from ten to fifteen per cent. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from 50 cents to $1.50 per bushel. I employ the best help I can get, and pay seventy-five cents per day and board.

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R. O. GRAHAM, Altoona, Wilson county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-seven years. Have an apple orchard of forty trees from five to eight years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Willow Twig, Rawle's Janet, and Grimes's Golden Pippin; and for family orchard I would add Maiden's Blush, Red Astrachan, and Red June. I have tried and discarded Belleflower, Limber Twig, and King of Tompkins County; they are no good. I prefer a clay bottom, with a north or northeast slope. I prefer two-year-old, round-top trees, with whole roots, set in dug holes, in the fall or spring, as deeply as they stood in the nursery. I cultivate my orchard five to eight years, with a hoed crop, or just keep the ground clean, and sow oats and sometimes red clover in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of Osage orange. I prune to give shape, and to keep limbs from crossing; I think it beneficial, and that it pays. I seldom thin my fruit while on the trees; I pick them off when the size of walnuts. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with well-rotted stable litter; put it between the rows; it has proven very beneficial; I would advise it on all soils, but less of it on bottom land. I never pasture my orchard, excepting with pigs, to eat the oats or clover, which I think advisable, and that it pays.

My trees are troubled with bark-louse, twig-borer, web-worm, tent-caterpillar, and canker-worm, and my apples with codling-moth and curculio. I spray my trees while in bloom, and two or three times afterward, with London purple and some Paris green; have greatly reduced the codling-moth. For rabbits I wrap the trees with corn-stalks and tie with a string. Borers I dig out, and then with a goose-quill or a spray nozzle I blow insecticides into the hole. I pick my apples by hand into sacks or pails from a step-ladder; sort into three classes; pack very closely into two and one-half bushel barrels, and mark with variety and grade; haul to market on wagon. I have sold apples in the orchard; I dispose of them any way I can; I feed culls to the hogs. My best markets are Kansas City, Denver, and Western points; have tried distant markets, and found it paid; but better sell at home. I do not dry many apples; it does not pay for good apples. I am fairly successful in storing apples in boxes, barrels and bulk in a cellar. I find Ben Davis, Jonathan and Rawle's Janet keep best. Never tried artificial cold storage. I have to repack stored apples before marketing, losing about ten per cent. of them. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from 75 cents to $1.25 per bushel for winter apples. I employ men at one dollar per day.

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FRED. WAHLENMAIER, Arkansas City, Cowley county: I have resided in the state thirty-five years. Have an apple orchard of five acres, twenty-four years old. I prefer Maiden's Blush for a family orchard. I prefer a sandy loam, hilltop, with a north slope. I prefer two-year-old trees, planted thirty feet apart. I plant my young orchard to corn, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. I prune my trees, to produce better and more fruit. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter. I pasture my orchard with calves. My trees are troubled with canker-worms and roundhead borers. I sprayed last year for canker-worms, with coal-oil and water, when the leaves were coming out. I wholesale my apples. Make cider of the culls. My best market is Arkansas City. We sun-dry some apples for our own use. I have stored some apples in the cellar; never have tried artificial cold storage. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from twenty-five to sixty cents per bushel.

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C. R. DAVIDSON, Yates Center, Woodson county: I have lived in Kansas fifteen years; have an apple orchard with trees from five to twenty years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Jonathan, Winesap, and Maiden's Blush, and for family orchard add Early Harvest. Have tried and discarded Yellow Bellflower; it will not bear. I prefer bottom land with a northern slope which has a black loam. I prefer two- or three-year-old trees, set in rows thirty feet east and west, and sixteen feet north and south. I plant my orchard with corn four or five years, using a cultivator, and cease cropping after six or eight years; Kafir-corn does well in a bearing orchard. For rabbits I think wire screening is best. I prune my trees to let in air; think it beneficial, and that it pays. Do not thin the fruit while on the trees. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; it strengthens and invigorates the trees; would advise its use on all soils unless very rich. I pasture my orchard with calves, because they do not hurt the trees; I think it advisable, and that it pays. My trees are troubled with web-worm, and my apples with curculio. I spray with London purple, one tablespoonful to two gallons of water, to destroy the curculio. I think I have reduced the codling-moth. For borers I use ashes; throw them around the tree, or make a lye of them, and wash the tree and throw some around the roots. I pick my apples from a ladder into baskets.

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G. K. AYERS, Furley, Sedgwick county: I have lived in the state twenty-seven years. Have an apple orchard of 300 trees, twenty-one years planted, eight to fourteen inches in diameter. For commercial orchard I prefer Ben Davis, Jonathan, Rome Beauty, and Winesap, and for family orchard Sweet June, Duchess of Oldenburg, Maiden's Blush, Baldwin, Grimes's Golden Pippin, Jonathan, Rome Beauty, and Winesap. Have tried and discarded Red Astrachan and Rambo for unproductiveness; White Winter Pearmain as unproductive, short-lived, and a poor seller. I prefer for an apple orchard the best corn land, in a bottom. I prefer two-year-old trees, with good roots not mangled, set in squares thirty feet each way. I cultivate my orchard to corn or vines, using a plow, harrow and cultivator eight or ten years in the orchard, and cease cropping after ten years. I plant a bearing orchard to orchard-grass and timothy (blue-grass is injurious). Windbreaks would be an advantage on the south and west; would make them of live trees; plant Osage orange next to orchard and forest-trees outside of it. For rabbits I wrap the young trees; also shoot and trap them, especially the jacks.

I prune very cautiously, and mostly on the north side, using a saw and knife, to give symmetry and keep limbs from crowding; I think it beneficial. I fertilize portions of my orchard with stable litter; would not advise it on all soils, as I think an orchard can be overstimulated. I have pastured the orchard with calves and hogs, but do not now; it does not pay; do not think it advisable. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, flathead borer, and fall web-worm, and my apples with codling-moth and curculio. I spray April 15 and May 10, on later date, with London purple, for insects. Think I have reduced the codling-moth. For insects not affected by spraying, I keep the tree in a healthy condition. Pick my apples by hand; sort into three classes--market, cooking, and cider. I sell apples in the orchard, wholesale, retail, or peddle; sell the best apples in the orchard or to dealers; peddle the second and third grades; make cider of the culls. I find the nearest markets to be the best; never have tried distant markets. Do not dry any. Do not store any, but think I shall. Do not irrigate, but would if I had the water. Prices have been fifty cents to one dollar per bushel for best winter apples.

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H. A. CONDRA, Longton, Elk county: I have resided in Kansas twenty-one years; have an apple orchard of seventy-five trees, twenty years old, ten to sixteen inches in diameter, twenty to twenty-five feet high. I have thirty more which are but two years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Winesap, Jonathan, and Missouri Pippin; and for family orchard Red Astrachan, Maiden's Blush, Rawle's Janet, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap. I prefer a bottom which has a rich loam, with a gravel subsoil and a north or east slope. I prefer two-year-old trees having but two limbs, both starting from the same place, set in holes four to six feet in diameter, two feet deep, filled in with good dirt. I cultivate my orchard to corn--so as to keep weeds down and hold moisture--use a disc harrow and cultivator so as to keep the soil loose and fine two or three inches down. I cease cropping after eight or ten years, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are not essential. For rabbits I use tin from the roofs of burned buildings or building paper. I prune with a saw and an ax to thin the tops and keep the limbs above my head; think it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are planted in blocks [of same kind]. I fertilize my orchard with any well-rotted manure; I think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils, especially on old orchards. I do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable; it does not pay.

My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, leaf-roller, and leaf-crumpler, and my apples with codling-moth. I spray when the leaves first come out, when in blossom, and once or twice afterwards, ten days apart, with London purple and Bordeaux mixture for codling-moth and leaf-eating worms. Think I have reduced the codling-moth some. I stand on a step ladder and pick my apples by hand in a small basket, then pour them into a wagon. I sort into three classes--sound, blemished, and rotten. Sound ones are put in crates, blemished are made into cider, and the rotten ones go to the hogs. I pack in crates, for convenience, and then store in the cellar. They are made of lath and 1x12 boxing lumber. The lath are sawed across in the middle, the lumber into lengths of fourteen inches. The bottom and sides are lath one-half inch apart. This makes an airy crate, easy to handle, two feet long, fourteen inches wide and twelve inches deep, which when rounded up will hold one and one-half bushels of apples. I sell apples in the orchard; also retail and peddle. My best apples are usually sold in the orchard. Of the second and third grades we make cider, apple-butter, and vinegar. The hogs get the culls. My best market is at home. I do not dry; cannot find a ready market, and it does not pay.